persimmon + turnip asazuke
an ode to persimmon + childhood memories of the perfect cut fruit
Kenji Morimoto•
Oct 7, 2025
What you’ll find with Japanese pickles is that many of them are QUICK, especially any under the asazuke (浅漬け) category (meaning quick or lightly pickled).
Whilst the Japanese palate can lean sweet with many pickles mirroring this, this asazuke doesn’t have any additional sugar due to the natural sweetness of the apple cider vinegar and persimmon. Unique umami comes from the shio kombu or salted seaweed - I’d recommend you find this (commonly available online or from Japanese grocery stories) as it’s an incredible ingredient and normal kombu won’t work as well here (if you only have normal kombu I’d recommend not using it due to the speediness of this “pickle”).
I love the combination of the persimmon with the turnip, the latter providing a subtle heat. Pro tip: eat the turnip and persimmon slices together in one bit for an explosion of flavour.
This series has been so cathartic in reflecting on my childhood and the food memories instilled by my grandparents and parents. Persimmon is a favourite for most of my family but this is a celebration of the appreciation for seasonality my mom showed me from a young age.
Kenji Morimoto is a London-based Japanese American food writer and content creator who specializes in fermentation. He draws from his cultural heritage to teach, write, and share culinary knowledge through various platforms, including his popular Instagram @kenjcooks and his upcoming book "Ferment."
Ingredients (5)
Ingredients (5)
Instructions
Using a mandolin, slice the persimmon and turnip. Put this into a mixing bowl.
Mandolins are ideal here to ensure the persimmon and turnip are cut thinly enough. As this is a quick pickle, the thinner the better.
To the same bowl, add the remaining ingredients and give this a mix. Let this "pickle" (or marinate) for a minimum of an hour but up to overnight in the fridge. This is not meant to be preserved long term and should be eaten within a few days.
You can use a plastic bag to ensure everything is submerged (air removed from the bag). You can also layer the persimmon and turnip into a glass jar but remember to keep this in the fridge.
